Monthly Archives: April 2021

Playtime

“Cezanne’s Dogwood Abstract”
Yakima Area Arboretum, Washington

Sometimes it feels good to just step back and play a little. Looking at the image from my previous post, I thought that it would make an interesting painting. With a few minutes of play with Topaz’s Impression, I was able to create this Cezanne-style image.

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Always Looking for New Ideas

“White and Pink Dogwoods”
Yakima Area Arboretum, Washington

I enjoy walking through gardens and arboretums enjoying their beauty and creative insights. This springtime vignette of contrasting white and pink dogwoods at the Yakima Arboretum triggered my thoughts for future Heatherwood additions. In our garden we currently have seven white dogwoods and two pink dogwoods, all blooming at different times. The whites and the pinks are planted in different parts of the garden. On my future planting list, I will add a few new pink dogwoods to complement the whites.

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Woodland in Progress

“Don Egolf Redbuds”
Heatherwood Woodland Garden

Last spring we planted nine redbuds as part of our new Woodland Garden. The blooms were gone at the time we planted them. This spring they erupted in bright pink buds. It will take years for this part of the garden to mature. But. we look forward to seeing it evolve over the years to come. As a comparison, the following image from the Yakima Arboretum is what we may expect these young redbuds to mature into.

“Mature Redbud in Spring Glory”
Yakima Area Arboretum, Washington

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The Newcomer

“Sango Kaku Japanese Maple”
Heatherwood Woodland Garden

What would a woodland garden be without a Japanese Maple. Our “Woodland Garden” started out as a redbud/dogwood grove. This year we extended the grove to include a Saratoga Ginko, a flowering plum, three maple shade trees, as well as two additional dogwoods, and several virbunums and other woodland shrubs. This little ‘Sango Kaku’ is our latest addition. The additional shrubs and ‘Sango Kaku’ linked the redbuds and dogwood grove to existing birches and maples. As the new trees grow and create a little shade, we will be adding rhododendrons and azaleas and other understory shade loving plants to create the woodland garden.

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Spring Glory 5

“Coralburst Flowering Crabapple”
Heatherwood Spring

The ‘Coralburst’ crabapple is a little guy. Right now the tree is only about 5-feet tall with an 18-inch spread. It is a slow grower reaching only 10-feet tall and 12-feet wide. It maintains its dense growth habit into maturity. It will be a real contrast to the rest of the crabapples in the grove.

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Spring Glory 4

“Show Time Flowering Crabapple”
Heatherwood Spring

“Show Time” is the fourth crabapple in our garden to breakout in full bloom. So far, the first three are still retaining their spring blooms. With a little luck, I hope that the full grove will be blooming at the same time.

Yesterday, I went to the Yakima Area Arboretum to enjoy their crabapple grove. It is quite a difference to see a mature grove in bloom as compared to what seems to be a few scattered young trees. We will patiently await to enjoy each new blooming cycle in the coming years as the Heatherwood Crabapple grove matures.

Still more crabs to come …

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Enjoyment and a Little Sadness

“Double Weeping Cherry and Naches-Selah Irrigation Flume”
Heatherwood Spring

As I look over our Double Weeping Cherry, I enjoy its beauty against the surrounding hills and the old Naches-Selah irrigation flume. But my heart also saddens. We have received information that the flume will be replaced with a pressurized pipeline this winter if the funding is approved. One of the first things that attracted me to this property was the beautiful hillside with the historic structure hugging its side. The need for efficiency and cost prevails and the historic flume built in the 1890’s will see its last use through this spring and summer. I will do my best to record this last remaining section of flume with my camera to remind me of a bygone era.

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Spring Glory 3

“Perfect Purple Flowering Crabapple”
Heatherwood Crabapple Grove

This is the third crabapple in our Heatherwood crabapple grove to come into full bloom. Last year, the trees were planted after the blooms had faded. Each of the new trees is significantly different from each other in their blooms, foliage, bark color, and form. It is such a treat to experience their first year of blooming in our Heatherwood garden.

More “crabs” to come …

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Spring Glory 2

“Spring Snow Flowering Crabapple”
Heatherwood Crabapple Grove

The first month of spring has just passed us by. Heatherwood’s early flowering cherries have bloomed and faded along with the serviceberries. The flowering pear and flowering plums have similarly progressed through the blooming cycle as well. Now the crabapples are in their progression. Soon the redbuds and dogwoods will follow.

More to come!

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Spring Glory 1

“Marilee Flowering Crabapple”
Heatherwood Crabapple Grove

We have had exceptional warm temperatures during the last couple of weeks. Our flowering trees are rapidly coming into full bloom, one right after another.

Last summer we created a small crabapple grove, planting seven different crabapple species. This is one of the first bloomers. All our trees are small, it is time to visit the Yakima Arboretum to see its premier grove of mature trees.

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